Street lamps, chain-link, and concrete
by ADayDream'sDream
Summary: "We should go back to Diego." Ben urged. Ben hadn't wanted to leave Diego. Ben had even left him alone when Diego had thrown him out in nothing but a pair of sweatpants and a thin shirt.; Part 7 of 'And my brain is like an orchestra (playing on, insane)'
1. Chapter 1

Klaus knew a thing or two about avoiding being found. He'd lived on the streets since he was eighteen. So he slept in alley because if he went to a shelter then he would have to give a name and there would be a record. He kept walking around as much as he could during the day, kept moving in random directions to keep people from being able to track his movements. He would only spend one hour begging a day. Keeping the few coins he got in his pocket. The call of dealers taunted him but he dared not. Getting high was how the got him last time. In the hours that he wandered with Ben trailing after him like a shadow he worked on piecing together what he could of that time. The man had always worn a suit and tie. Like a businessman of some sort. He'd smelt of cologne too, Klaus remembered choking on the stench. The room he'd been kept in had been small, like a closet and hadn't been the room the man had fucked him in.

Three and a half weeks of wandering and that was all he could remember.

"We should go back to Diego." Ben urged. Ben hadn't wanted to leave Diego. Ben had even left him alone when Diego had thrown him out in nothing but a pair of sweatpants and a thin shirt. Klaus hadn't seen him until a week later when he had been arguing with another homeless guy about Klaus sitting down in that guy's 'territory'.

"We're not going back Ben. He thinks I'm using. I need to keep him safe." Klaus muttered. He scratched at his neck, the dirt mixing with the humidity in the air to make an itch. He slumped down on a bench and studied his fingers. They were caked in dirt and grime. He wondered if he would recognize himself if he had a mirror. Before Diego he hadn't cared if his family recognized him. Ben always knew him despite what he looked like and that had been enough for him

"You miss him." Ben said sitting down beside him. Klaus shrugged. There was no point in trying to deny it. He missed Diego. He missed the little apartment and how the neighbors had always woken him when they got in the shower. He missed the way the front door creaked and how Diego always rapt his knuckles on the frame of Klaus' door even though he knew Klaus was aware of his presence. A little orange kitten staggered up to him and Klaus reached down to pick it up.

"Hey there little guy. What are you doing all alone?" Klaus asked the kitten who was lightly gnawing on his thumb. He was skinny. Probably had worms too. Klaus stroked down the kitten's spine and the little guy let out a studdery purr.

"He's cute. Are you going to keep him?" Ben asked and Klaus shook his head. He was homeless, he knew he couldn't keep a cat. Still he couldn't just leave him. Tucking the kitten into the crook of his arm, Klaus stood and looked around. He wasn't far from the apartment. A few blocks northwest and he'd be home.

"Where are we going?" Ben asked as they started in that direction. Klaus didn't answer, didn't need to. The kitten continued to gnaw at his thumb as they walked. Klaus told himself he was just going to drop the kitten off. Diego would be good with a cat. The kitten needed a home. They would be good for each other. He paused outside the building, realizing he didn't have a key to get inside.

"Mrow?" The kitten meowed looking up at Klaus. Klaus rubbed down its head and scratched behind its ear.

"I donno buddy. I guess we'll have to use the buzzer." Ben said sounding positively gleeful. Klaus scowled at him but stepped up to the list of buzzers. His fingers hovered over 5-13. Diego's apartement. Tears watered up in his eyes. He didn't even know if Diego was home. He might be working. He might be with Eudora.

"Klaus?" A familiar voice asked and Klaus turned to see Diego's neighbor Mrs. Nowark holding the door open for him

"Did you forget your key?" She asked and he nodded. She gave him a smile

"Go on in. I don't think Diego's home but you know where he keeps his spare key." She said and Klaus nodded. He slipped past her and towards the stairs. He climbed them slowly, trying not to think about how much getting kicked out for a second time would hurt but being unable to think about anything else.

"He's not going to kick you out again." Ben chided. They finally reached the fifth floor and Klaus followed the familiar hall to the familiar door. Reaching up to the little ledge at the top of the doorframe his fingers met cool metal of the spare key. He pulled it down and looked at it for a minute before slotting it into the lock with shaking hands. The lock clicked, the handle turned and Klaus slipped inside after returning the key to its hiding place. The kitten squirmed in his grasp and he set it down on the floor. It trotted over to the couch and wiggled it's butt in preparation to jump up. Klaus smiled when it lept and didn't quite make it onto the arm of the couch.

"Silly." He murmured before going into the kitchen to look for something for the kitten to eat. He found canned tuna and cracked one open. He dumped half of it onto a plate and set it on the floor. The kitten trotted over and sniffed it before starting to gobble it down. The other half Klaus ate with his fingers straight from the can. Once the tuna was gone he scooped the kitten up and headed into the room that had been his. He shut the door behind himself and slid into the bed.

He was asleep moments later with a happy kitten purring on his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Eudora knew as soon as she entered Diego' apartment that someone had been there. There was a plate on the floor and the top to a can still attached to the electric can opener. She slowly reached for her gun and got ready to shoot anyone who had broken in. She checked each window in the living room to see if any of them were open. None were so she checked the sole window in Diego's room. Again, no dice. The door to Klaus' room was shut and she could hear soft noises from inside. Slowly she reached for the handle. Counting to three she shoved the door open and brought her gun up. The person inside had been laying on the bed immediately shot up from the reclined position disturbing a small lump that had been on his chest. The lump turned out to be a small cat who hissed and shot past her.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." The person said and Eudora lowered her gun.

"Klaus?" She said, worry and wonder filling the sole word. The figure rubbed his eyes and nodded and Eudora realized Klaus was crying. She popped the safety back on and reattached the gun to her hip

"Hey, shhh, I didn't mean to scare you." Eudora said moving to sit at the end of the bed. Klaus coiled away from her, pulling his legs up to his chest and pressing his back against the headboard. Eudora didn't push to get closer like she wanted to

"Have you eaten?" She asked and he nodded, arms tucked up to his chest. He looked filthy in the shadows of the room. She couldn't get a good look to see if he was injured or not.

"Do you mind if I turn on a light?" She asked and he shrugged. Slowly as to not frighten him again she rose and flicked the overhead light on before returning to the end of the bed. Klaus was indeed disgustingly filthy. His clothes and skin were coated in smudges of dirt and sweat and grime. He wouldn't look at her, focusing on his fingers.

"Do you want to take a shower?" She asked. She knew he prefered baths but with how much filth was on him she knew that wasn't an option. He shrugged and she rose to her feet, holding a hand out to him.

"Why don't you go take a shower and I'll change the sheets." She said and he rose. He didn't take her hand and made sure that there was at least a foot between them. Eudora followed him out of the room but headed into the kitchen to put the kettle on while Klaus was in the shower. She knew she should text Diego, not that Diego would be able to skip the rest of his shift to be here. He should at least know Klaus was here.

_To Diego [7:47pm]: Klaus is at the apartment._

She set her phone down on the table and headed towards the closet where Diego kept his spare sheets. Grabbing a pair of dark purple sheets that she knew Diego had gotten for Klaus, she stripped the bed and changed them, laying out a woobie out onto the bed as she heard the shower shut off. She left the room in time to see Klaus exit the bathroom in only a towel. He was thin, not really having put on much weight even when he had been staying at the apartment, there were fresh marks across his body too. A distinct boot shape on his ribs, scratches across his neck and arms, two healing burns that might have been from a cigarette.

"Want some tea or cocoa?" She asked moving to pull two mugs from the cabinet. Klaus shrugged

"Tea." His voice was barely a whisper, dry and cracked like a book that had been left in the rain and then the sun. He wouldn't look at her again but she decided that she would earn that back.

He hadn't looked at her in the beginning either.

"Alright. Tea it is." She said pulling out the tin of chai tea. She spooned the grounds into the cups as he changed and poured the hot water into them after. Grabbing her phone she saw she had missed several texts from Diego

_From Diego [7:48pm]: Is he okay?_

_From Diego [7:50pm]: Please tell me he's not high_

_From Diego [7:51pm]: Eudora?_

_From Diego [7:53pm]: We're stopping by. Be there in 3_

She checked her watch and saw that they would be there in a minute.

"Diego's on his way here." She said passing Klaus his mug. Klaus shrunk in on himself and slipped into the chair that was on the other side of the table. Eudora flicked the radio on to try and distract him, knowing he would be overthinking about the whole situation. The small cat that had been on his chest crawled out of its hiding spot under the couch and padded over to him. Klaus picked it up and stroked down its back absentmindedly.

"It's going to be alright." She heard him murmur.


	3. Chapter 3

Diego knew Ryan was breaking a minimum of five laws as they flew down the street towards the apartment but he didn't really care. He needed to get home, to get to Klaus who might have taken off before he could get back.. Diego barely waited for the cruiser to come to a stop when he was out of the car and headed towards the door. Eudora had never responded to any of the texts and that made him worry. What if Klaus was high? DIego didn't think he could handle a high Klaus at this point. What if he was hurt? Ryan caught up with him when he was struggling to get his key into the door. His hands were shaking from the pent up anxiety and he dropped the keys twice

"Shit. Shit. Fucking shit." He swore as he fought with the lock. Frustrated he kicked the door sending a shockwave of pain up his leg

"Slow down D. Breathe." Ryan said grabbing Diego by his shoulders and forcing him to take several deep breaths. Once Diego wasn't so worked up he let go and Diego was able to get his key into the lock. He took another deep breath before entering the building. They made their way to the stairs. The building had an elevator but it was always broken and extremely unreliable. Diego ran through the possible scenarios that he might come across when he reached their apartment. What could have brought Klaus back? Diego didn't think he had come back without a reason. Klaus had trust issues and Diego had only made them worse with the way he had thrown Klaus out. Once they reached the fifth floor Diego froze. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to Klaus. He wasn't sure what he could say that would make this better. He wasn't sure why he was so scared but he was terrified. Terrified of screwing up again, of Klaus leaving again.

"Come on. It's going to be alright." Ryan said giving him a little nudge. Diego nodded, put on a brave face, and headed towards his apartment. The door was unlocked, Eudora probably hadn't bothered and if she hadn't bothered it meant she was probably still there. If she was still there Klaus was more than likely still there ass well. Ryan nudged him again and Diego took a deep breath. The door creaked when he entered and his eyes immediately landed on Klaus who was curled up in one of the chairs at the table. He had a mug in his hands and a...kitten? Yeah, that was a kitten licking his hair. Klaus' eyes flickered over him before settling for a spot to the right of Diego's head. Diego was used to this behavior, Klaus had never liked looking at people even when they had been kids. Ben had explained once that Klaus did it because if he didn't look directly at the ghosts they wouldn't notice him and it had transferred over to the living. Numbly he took a step inside and then another and another until he was beside Klaus. Klaus was tense, like he was expecting Diego to hit him or do something equally abusive. Diego sunk to his knees beside Klaus and gently took the mug out of his hands. He set it on the table before pulling Klaus out of the chair and into his lap. The cat jumped off Klaus and onto the table at the movement, letting out a displeased mrow. Diego didn't notice, instead focused on burying his face into Klaus' hair and letting himself weep. Klaus was tense at first but slowly relaxed into the embrace, his hands coming u to cling to Diego's shoulders. Diego held Klaus as he wept as well, shoulders shaking in silent sobs and tears dampening Diego's uniform.

"Shh, I'm here. I got you. You're safe." Diego murmured, pressing kisses to Klaus' hair. Finally Klaus' tears dried up and he simply relaxed against Diego's shoulder. Diego didn't mind, he held his brother until his breathing evened out and Diego knew he was asleep. Gently he lifted him and carried him into his bedroom. He laid Klaus out on the bed and wrapped the worn woobie around him. It had started as a joke, the blanket. Diego had gotten a bunch of them at an army surplus store when he had first moved into the apartment and after Klaus had moved in he had stated that the woobies would keep the night terrors away because they made him invisible. It had seemed to help. With one last kiss to Klaus' head, Diego left the room. He turned to Eudora who raised her hands

"You don't have to ask, I'll stay until your shift ends." She said before he could speak. Diego wasn't sure if he would have been able to around the lump in his throat so he simply nodded and left. Eudora would keep Klaus safe for the night, he told himself, he didn't have to worry.

He knew he would anyways.


End file.
